BATS Improv Combines Audience Participation and Actor's Versatility

Marina Times
December 2002

By Heather Zemansky, Marina Times Entertainment Editor

Who would ever think to link professional wrestling and the start of improv? In 1958, Keith Johnstone, a professor at the University of Calgary, noticed how readily sporting events garnered an audience. The crows that gathered showed such unabashed excitement and involvement in the teams that were competing that it hardly seemed to matter which side won. Looking to bring the same sort of attraction to the stage, Johnstone sought to incorporate the exaltation displayed among spectators of pro-wrestling matches into a new genre of theatre which he coined Theatresports.

Theatresports is a fast-paced, action-packed game, which combines the actors’ wit, humor, and ability to think quickly by playing off the audience participation. The plights and circumstances acted out are tailored around the crowd’s vocalized commentary ranging from made-up phrases to one-word responses pertaining to a certain theme. This exciting new method of performance art soon spread throughout the theater community, eventually finding its way to the streets of San Francisco. In November 1986, a group of Bay Area actors invited a teacher form Seattle Theatresports to instruct them in this new theatrical format. Although the group consisted of all actors, many had little or no experience with improvisation. The workshop culminated on November 10, 1986 in a sold-out performance, and inspired audience members, many of whom were actors, to join the founding group, BATS.

Newly christened Bay Area Theatresports, the group began to hold weekly lunch meetings at the offices of Young Audiences. The company sought to continue exploring Johnstone’s exciting new format, as well as provide an arena where the actors would be free to develop new “players” without the restraints of directors, dramaturgy, set designs, and playwrights. In 1987, BATS form its first performing company and began offering classes. The ever-evolving group constantly pushed the envelope of Johnstone’s teachings, using his methods as steppingstones rather than set standards. Placing the emphasis on story, BATS stands apart from other improv groups whose sole goal is to make the audience laugh using simple “bar humor.” “We try to do stories with a narrative base, not just ha, ha funny,” says Regina Saisi, BATS artistic director. Fellow actor Tim Orr agrees. “You do put pressure on yourself to be funny,” he says. “But you need to care more about the story and be willing to improvise.”

Focusing more on the experience and merging together of cast members rather than merely going for laughs is an important aspect of all BATS performances. “I like to bring deep stuff to it,” says Laura Derry, a Main Stage Company member, who also directs various Belfry shows. “I like to do things I really care about, and see them on stage so I can redirect them, such as love or death.”

In March of 1997, BATS moved into its current home, the Bayfront Theater at Fort Mason Center. The move allowed the group to add more classes and workshops, and increase their performing opportunities by expanding to four shows a week. A hierarchy was established and three performing groups of more than 100 improvisers emerged. Graduates of the BATS improv training program make up the Main Stage Company. Considered to be the most experienced and versatile improvisers of the organization, the Company, as they like to be called, hold two of the four weekly performance slots, Friday’s Gorilla Theatre and Saturday’s long theme improv. To be admitted into the group, you have to have a very strong foundation in improv, and the ability to work well with other sin any given situation. “Improv is like playing jazz music,” says Company member Scott Keck. “You need to play a lot of scales, and a lot of songs before you can play with the pros.”

Gorilla Theatre is comprised of five actors who, with help from the audience, try to direct the other four players in different scenes. “It’s a really interactive format,” explains Regina. “With five different directors on stage, each one trying to direct the next scene, there ends up being a lot of interplay and mischief.” The winning actor, voted on by those in attendance, receives the coveted prize of taking home the gorilla. “When people see improv, they get the improv bug,” Regina adds. “They just want to come and watch and watch. It’s so real, it’s life!”

Saturday night performances take a single theme such as a “Courtroom Drama,” where the crime has already been committed, but the characters and circumstances are left to evolve. This December’s Disco Romance offers a visionary skit containing horrific 70s fashion blunders and boogie-fever misdoings. Although there are no rules in improv, all the various players need to have a similar understanding and focal point for that night’s chosen theme. Therefore it is up to the director of each performance to make sure their actors are all on the same page. “You have a vision and you try to give that vision to your improvisers,” says Regina. “There is usually an acting style. You don’t want them to shape a story like one of the movies, but you want them all to be on board with a certain vision.”

Of course, it wouldn’t be improv if there was a set script and defined characters. Rafe Chase long to be an actor but hated learning lines and was often too shy to perform. Through improv, the was able to work through his handicap and now after being with BATS 15 years, enjoys the shows unpredictable aspect. “Mistakes are gifts which lead to strange and good things,” Rafe explains. “They make it more real and it lets the audience know it’s improv.” Company member Laura also agrees that BATS Improv has the ability to unleash barriers for people who thought themselves too inhibited to try its irregular format. “Improvisation is great for life skills,” says Laura. “It gave me social skills, and it’s great for writing.”

Thursday nights belong to The Belfry improvisers. They have undergone five to seven years of training and also explore the format of long form improv. Many of their performances, especially in the upcoming month of December, experiment with improvised musicals, centered around a certain theme or decade. For instance, the show for Thursday the December 12, “Vampire Romance,” incorporates the dialogue and plots of Anne Rice’s books to create an improvised theater with a quixotic theme.

Improvised music adds yet another dimension to the already complex make-up of the performance. David Norfleet, one of BATS premiere musical improvisers, sees each show as a new opportunity to explore his own talents. “There are no rules,” says David. “You have to be able to play by ear and be willing to improvise on a trial and error method.” The talented cast views the music, lighting, and even unforeseen audience diversions, like the ringing of a cell phone, as enhancement tools that are worked effortlessly in to the skit.

The Sunday Players comprise the third tier of the performing groups. These are the talented graduates from the BATS improv school who have been invited to participate. Seen as the “new kids.” The group puts on Theatresports, where two teams compete in a manner originated by Johnstone, the school’s founder. Look for them to produce their first improvised musical at the end of December, a definite deviation from their usual short-term material.

Teaching improv since 1986, BATS is considered to be one of the largest and most reputable schools in the world, attracting students from Europe, Australia, and Japan. Classes not only teach the fundamentals of improv, but also help reclaim and unleash the imagination and freedom sometimes absent in an individual’s current lifestyle. “Improv is great because it’s so present and you’re in the moment,” says Laura. “It’s when you start living in the moment that things really begin moving and changing.”

Gerri Lawlor, a fellow member of the Company, agrees that improv is life enhancing. Gerri discovered the art of improv while still in high school at San Francisco’s School of the Arts and there has been no turning back. “Being a woman in comedy is the best you can do,” says Gerri. “You can write your own scripts. And it’s a great place to expand and make your own roles.”

Based on their theory that everyone can improvise, you should acquaint yourself with all that BATS offers. There are a wide variety of classes, suited to any individual’s need. What a great way to kick those holiday blues and help rediscover an old you. “Improv happens when you start taking risks,” says Regina. Be it a shyness to shine, or a long ingrained desire to act out your most outlandish desires, BATS improv has a role for you and a stage to explore it on. “If you’ve said thee lines, you’ve said too much,” Tim explains, quoting a maxim of the Johnstone method of teaching.

For more information and a schedule of upcoming BATS performances, contact their Web site, www.improv.org or call 415-474-8935. You can find show information and performance dates in The Marina Times entertainment calendar.